Neon
by charredfeathers
Summary: The bad fashion sense didn’t really stop him from loving her. SasuSaku AU.


**Neon**

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**Summary: **The bad fashion sense didn't really stop him from loving her. SasuSaku AU.

**Author-person: **For _**hypheniated**_. I hope you like this.

**Prompt: **walking disaster

Characters are somewhat OOC.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

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She came into his life in the most awfully clichéd manner.

She dropped her books. Yep. It was just like any other romance novel waiting to happen.

People were just standing there, sort of hesitant to help out, because… well… she was not liked. She had pink hair, and mismatched clothes, weird mannerisms and even weirder taste in music. She liked to be considered as a punctual, responsible and bright individual. That was probably why she had no social life…Oh, and she had dreams. Big, big dreams that she held on to and refused to believe impossible. She was ambitious like that, and people around her didn't really like ambitious little girls with beaded bracelets and tie-dyed scarves.

She was this odd little puzzle piece. Part of the big picture… but the other pieces didn't want to _make_ her fit in.

"Here." He had said with a flat tone, handing her the thickest book he had ever seen in his life. Okay, he was exaggerating. Just a bit.

Uchiha Sasuke had never really _looked_ at her before. He saw her, yes. Often in the library, the salad bar in the cafeteria (What? He likes his tomatoes), and in that small park bench every Saturday morning. But he never really _looked _at her_. _The two were entirely different things, in his opinion. Never mind that his blonde, idiot, best friend failed to actually understand what he meant.

Uzumaki Naruto was kind of stupid like that. Still, Sasuke loved him like a brother.

The girl smiled at him, a pretty little grin that he hadn't seen since they were in the fifth grade. Sasuke recognized that smile from years back, and his eyes slid sideways instantly. Naruto would have guessed this gesture as a quiet panic attack.

He'd known her since they were seven, found her relatively cute and likeable… until she started fangirling over him like all the others. It went downhill from there. Sort of. He had established that they could never be friends since then.

When she finally got up on her feet, sheets of paper all bundled up in her arms, and books threatening yet again to fall, Sasuke backed away very slowly and tried to remember all the possible brush-offs he could do if she ever tried to do anything remotely stu--

"Thanks, Sasuke." Haruno Sakura said, bright smile still in place. She turned on her heel and walked off to what he believed to be her Physics class.

The Uchiha blinked and tilted his head to the side a little. Maybe she wasn't so bad after all? Minus the huge heart-shaped earrings and the spiked bracelet, she would have looked… decent. His eye twitched at the thought.

Who was he kidding? She was a walking disaster.

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Sasuke didn't know when the thought had started clawing at the back of his head. He guessed that maybe it was only his natural inquisitiveness that compelled him to come up to her that day. Yes. Inquisitiveness. That was definitely it. He couldn't think of a better reason.

"Talk to me."

"Uhm. What?"

"Why do you dress like that? Why do you want to take up medicine in the future? Why do you live with your aunt? …Why did you stop _liking _me?"

The girl, the one with the pink hair, just sort of stared at him. She was looking forward to her burger since she hadn't eaten anything since dinner, but this guy, Sasuke, just _had _to grab the seat across from hers and throw some very random questions at her. She blinked up at the boy several times before giving him an awkward smile.

"Okay… Well you set them up, I'll knock them down," Sakura took a deep breath and counted the answers off with her fingers. "First, I dress like this because I want to. The things I wear are gifts from people, and this is my way of appreciating them. That's all there is to it. Second, I want to take up medicine because my aunt is a doctor and it's part of her job description to help save lives. I want to help her do just that. Third, because my parents died-" Sasuke choked on a fry, and when she raised an eyebrow at him, he motioned for her to continue. "They died when I was five in some car accident and my aunt was the only person willing to take me in. And… Uhh… I was hoping the fourth question was rhetorical…Is it?"

Sasuke shook his head in response. She sighed and he waited for her answer patiently. He proceeded to examine her nails. Orange. Ew.

"Because, I… let's just say that I kind of… fell in love with someone else."

"And?"

"And got dumped. It was… a traumatic experience."

"Hence the mannerisms?"

"Huh?"

The Uchiha's eyes slid sideways and he clasped his hands together. "You sort of… draw hearts. Crooked ones. Everywhere, I've noticed."

"Ahhh," Sakura's eyes widened a fraction as the realization came. "It does appear to be a habit, does it? Maybe it is. I don't really know either." She shrugged and took a bite out of her burger. Then she smiled.

He smirked, looking a little content with her answers and leaned back against his seat before putting another french fry in his mouth. They ate in comfortable silence... but when he had reached out for his coke, he saw her rummaging through her bag and take out a pink felt-tip pen.

Sasuke didn't say anything when she started doodling on her tissue.

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She spent quiet Saturday mornings sitting on a park bench, just catching some sunlight and good old Vitamin D. The weather was nice. Warm. Just the way she liked it.. It seemed like a really normal weekend and she was so sure nothing eventful would happen that day.

Seeing the Uchiha kid on her favorite bench, reading Cecelia Ahern was the last thing on her mind…

"Hello, stalker." Pink hair was tied in a small ponytail and she was wearing purple flip flops (a gift from Aunt Tsunade).

"Hn." Messy dark hair. He was wearing converse.

Slightly miffed by Sasuke's apparent nonchalance, Sakura placed one hand on her hip and shot him her best glare. She didn't approve of his 'stalking'. After all, the park bench was her special place. It held some sentimental value to her… because this was where she wandered off to when she was first rejected. It was her place of solace. Her little sanctuary. And this… this stranger and his book were intruding. She had to shoo him away didn't she? Ten seconds of intense glaring ought to do it…

Sasuke merely grunted at her supposed intimidations.

"Listen, you--"

"This is a public bench, I think"

Clearly defeated, she finally raised the white flag and heaved out a great sigh. Sakura obviously had no right to deprive the boy of the park bench. She had no rights to it. Damn legal proceedings.

She sat down right beside him and eyed the book in his pale hands with keen interest. "What are you reading?" She asked, while reading whatever was printed on the back cover. Sakura had never known Sasuke was into romance. Much less anything about being 'destined' for each other (as written in the synopsis).

"A book, obviously. Found it in my brother's things. I was curious, so I started reading." The dark-haired boy looked up from page four hundred and thirty-five and smirked. "Do you want it? I'm almost done anyway."

"Isn't it your brother's? Wouldn't he mind?"

"Hn. He has loads of Danielle Steel under his bed. He needs to trim down his collection."

Three seconds. And she was laughing, clutching her stomach and smacking him on the back _hard_ with her hand. God, who knew that the girl could hit like that? Sasuke was a little befuddled by it all, and he had to admit, he was even a bit scared… but despite the pain, it didn't take him long enough to start chuckling too.

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Oh, he saw how she looked at _him. _

Sad green eyes, a frown… even her unusually bright hair seemed duller…

_He _had Random Girl Number 12 wrapped around his arm like a Burmese python that refused to just freaking let go. It was as if she would just literally curl up and die if he told her to fuck off and leave him alone. Yeah, he was definiftely _that_ kind of guy.

Sasuke failed to understand why the hell his new pink-haired 'friend' (he refused to admit it at first, but Naruto was too damn persistent to bring her in their circle) had ever fallen in love with such a… a… _prick. _

The Uchiha admitted, he was never really the sociable one. He never cared to make friends with anyone when he was younger since it was always the others that flocked to him. His best friend was a special case, though. They had seemed to just drift together… and then one day, they had suddenly become close. Just like that. But he didn't hang around with other kids. He didn't beg for attention, and he didn't really appreciate whatever notice his peers were giving him either. He was a jerk like that.

But this guy, this GUY he couldn't even remember the name of, had attained a whole new level of jerkiness that even he dared not to venture into. The kind that Naruto didn't even bother to remedy, the kind that Shikamaru would label as _very _troublesome, the kind Kiba would have loved to let Akamaru pee on… etcetera etcetera… the list went on.

They strutted on the corridor like some holier-than-thou couple expecting some form of worship from the people who were present. Everything seemed to go in slow-motion and everyone needed to stop and stare just to prove how much of an impact they-- HE had with everyone else.

It made Sasuke sick.

"Oi, pinky!" Wait. He was looking at them. Straight at them. And Random Girl Number 12 had this sultry look on her face as she set her eyes on Sasuke.

He wanted to puke.

"So you snagged a big one? Uchiha too. Damn. What did she do to you, man? I bet it was her whacko aunt's drugs, eh?" Whatshisname nudged the dark-haired boy with his elbow before giving his former admirer a disgusted look. Sakura cowered behind Sasuke.

"Leave her alone," he said with gritted teeth and glowered at the bastard.

Whatshisname smirked. He pulled the tab on his soda can and took one long gulp from it. "You know what, Uchiha?"

He turned the can over and spilt it all on Sakura's pink head. She gasped in surprise, and Sasuke felt his blood boil instantly.

"Fuck off."

Just then, an orange cannonball hurtled toward them and launched itself at Whatshisname before the Uchiha could even land a punch on the bastard.

Uzumaki Naruto got detention for a week after that… but Sasuke had suprisingly decided to help out with his homework, so it wasn't all that bad either.

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"He was nicer back then." She hugged her knees to her chest and stared at the empty sandbox in the distance.

Sasuke regretted having asked such an insensitive question. He hadn't exactly planned to ask her anything about anyone… it just popped up as he was skimming his head for something they could talk about.

The bench was more comfortable in the daytime, he noticed, and was much more fun to sit in when his companion was in a better mood.

He buried his hands in his pockets and sighed. He was not the best person for this. He had never actually handled a conversation about things like heartbreak, or exes, or failed romances. So he really didn't know what to do.

He was willing to bet that Itachi knew more about this kind stuff, what with all his cheesy novels and all. Sasuke forced the weird mental image he had formed back in the recesses of his mind and tried hard not to let his sarcastic sense of humor surface.

"He's a jerk," the Uchiha said a little tentatively, hoping that Sakura wouldn't take his bashing of Whatshisname as an offence. She only stayed silent. "He doesn't realize that he just passed off an opportunity to have someone as great as you."

"You're only saying that, Sasuke. I know how everyone else looks at me."

"Yeah, well… they're all assholes."

"And you're supposed to be the nice guy who cheers everyone up?" She chuckled and set her feet on the ground.

Sasuke snorted. "Hardly. You've got my job confused with my idiot best friend's."

Sakura blinked, then smiled her pretty smile at him again.

"Thank you. Really."

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They had a Physics test that day, and despite the small confusion she had in solving the specific gravity of a solid weighing 350 dynes in the air and 210 dynes in the water, her exam was relatively okay… she had ten minutes to spare.

Sakura rested her cheek against her palm and stared at the clock on the wall. Time was moving really slow in her opinion, and it was instances like these that made her wish she could fast forward everything and just get on with her life. She didn't really like staying at school for too long… but if she wanted to become like her aunt, she had to work hard and endure everything education had to throw at her.

She could handle the peer pressure. Of course she could. It would take more than a few nicknames and bullying to bring her down. It would take more than Whatshisname's stupid cat-calling and his constant flaunting of his women at her face.

Sakura sighed. He had been so unbelievably kind to her back then… and it never occurred to her that he had only been using her to ace his subjects.

God, she was so stupid. That tactic was probably obvious to everyone else.

Maybe she should not have expected so much from someone who was on top of the school's caste system? Maybe she should not have assumed that he looked at her _that_ way? Maybe she should not have hoped for happily-ever-after clichés where her knight in shining armor would come in the form of an infamous playboy (and hopefully _-hopefully- _she had changed him in some way)?

Had she not learned from Sasuke back in the fifth grade? Had she not learned that the pretty ones would always be the type to give her cold shoulders and rude brush-offs? Not that Sasuke had ever really poured soda on her head… but he was always so… distant. So brooding, and so out of reach.

It was funny that, after all those years of trying to be _someone _to the Uchiha and failing epically, Sasuke had re-entered her life at the most unexpected moment and became the friend she had always been looking for.

"Miss Haruno, I'd advise you to stop doodling on your paper, but seeing as you've covered most of the free space already, I believe that would be an obvious waste of my time."

Sakura squeaked and almost jumped from her seat. Half of the class laughed, much to the pink-haired girl's chagrin. The other half (thankfully) was too busy still making last minute corrections and had only looked up when Sakura had already sunk deeper into her seat. She took once fleeting glance at her paper before her teacher had whisked it away.

"Sorry, ma'am."

It was probably wrong of her to not sound genuinely regretful, but she couldn't help but be slightly happy when her crooked hearts had turned out to be pretty ones… and for once…

… they weren't for good old Whatshisname.

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She was wearing that painfully bright neon orange jacket on one of her days out with Naruto and Sasuke. The latter, however, was temporarily rendered blind by her clothing and couldn't quite come nearer unless his eyes were half-closed. The blonde didn't seem to mind the unsightly orange-ness she was wearing, though.

"Let's go to the ice cream store Sakuraaaaaaaa!!!" Oh yes, these two were being quite the pair. Sasuke ran a hand down his face in frustration.

They (actually, Naruto) picked the ice cream parlor by the corner bookstore so Sakura could pick up some Cecelia Ahern and Sasuke could un-traumatize himself and get some Stephen King. The pink-haired girl had mentioned that that particular store sold ridiculously expensive parfaits and sundae cones... Sasuke could only grimace at the blonde ball of enthusiasm that was Uzumaki Naruto.

"What? I know you just got your allowance money today. It is mandatory that you treat me, your best friend, and Sakura, our new friend, one of those big-ass banana split ice cream thingies!" Naruto punched his fist in the air… and earned a huge bump on his head. ("Ow. You bastard!")

In the end, they did get the big-ass banana split ice cream thingies Uzumaki had suggested and proceeded to the bookstore to --("get Sasuke some porn! Ow! Bastard!") get Sasuke some Stephen King and Sakura some of her romance.

"Do you think these things actually happen anyway?" The Uchiha had snorted after replacing a vampire-romance novel back in the shelf.

Sakura inclined her head to the side and perused the shelves further. She paused to look at Naruto who was crouched over at the manga section, picking up his favorite comic.

"It doesn't hurt to live in fairy tales sometimes," she said as she pulled out A Walk To Remember and tucked it under her arm. Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Just don't get too absorbed with it, I suppose. Because you never know when reality will come and ruin your happy endings and cripple your knight in shining armors."

Sasuke put some thought into that and nodded silently. He looked up to examine more of the titles displayed on the shelf while Sakura resumed her book hunting and wandered off to the far end of the romance section.

He glanced at the girl just as she was taking a book out.

Well, if her knight in shining armor wouldn't come to her rescue, then maybe Prince Charming will.

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"…You bastard."

"What?"

"You LIKE her. I effing knew it."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and replaced his earphones. He was really not in the mood for Naruto's pointless tirades.

"Is that why you took her out to paint heart shaped graffiti on the walls last night? How sweet is that? God, ants will feast on both of you!!!"

"Shut up. She wanted to feel 'liberated'. It was the only thing I could think of that wouldn't land us into too much trouble if we were ever get caught. "

"Whatever. I bet you keep this all in a diary. I WILL find that, Sasuke. Mark my words."

"Hn."

"Oh quit being gay and just admit it. You luuuurve her. You wanna huuug her. You wanna kiiiiiss her."

"I'm thinking you watched Miss Congeniality. What, can't you come up with anything original?"

"I'm trying, I'm trying!"

"And that's from Crisis Core."

"Why must you remember everything?!"

"Hn. I'm awesome like that."

"Ass. Anyway, when will you tell her? I demand to be best man on your wedding."

"You wish. I'm thinking Neji would do a better job than being best man than you. Plus, there's a lesser risk of having someone dressed in an orange tux in the wedding."

"Oh my freaking god. You're not denying it?"

"Just shut up, idiot.

Naruto noted that the Sasuke was smirking when he said that.

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Tap. Tap. Tap.

Bump. Bounce. Dribble.

Honk. Honk.

Screeeeeeeech.

Scream.

Yell.

"MOVE!"

Push.

Crash.

Wail. Wail. Wail.

Shuffle. Strap. Slam. Vroooom.

Beep.

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"Nice weather…"

Her voice was like a silver bell ringing in the darkness. It broke his reverie… and Sasuke had to force himself from letting out a frustrated groan. He liked his daydreams. He liked it when it was quiet and he had all the time in world to think about things. Important things that he actually cared to think about.. More often than not, he remained engrossed with them even after he was brought back to reality (via textbook slammed onto his desk, or a poke on the forehead). It was almost sad how they always came to an abrupt end.

End. Endings. Hm. More things to ponder about in the future…

A shade of pink, blinding neon green, purple? No. Lilac? Yes. Lilac. He felt relatively happier.

Sasuke stayed still in his little stone bench and stared at the pink iPod clutched in his hand. Cracked screen. Dark smudge right there on the wheel. No music. Earphones on. Quiet. Just the twitter of sparrows and the rustling of leaves.

She probably thought he had no chance of hearing her.

Sasuke pretended to be deaf to the world. People _knew_ he listened to screamo. Sometimes metal. Sometimes hardcore.

He doesn't. Of course not. He preferred Mozart's genius and Haydn's surprises. And sometimes Naruto's renditions of Pokerface.

But _please _don't tell him that.

The pink-haired girl sighed at his silence and tilted her face towards the sky. She loved the sunlight on her face. Loved the weather, the silence, the birds, mornings in the park... And books. That's why she doesn't leave home without one tucked in her bag or under her arm. So she brought one with her that morning too. The one that Sasuke had given her. Thick, romance, about two best friends that fall in love and keep missing their chances to tell each other until they're all old and have families and… and…

And she doesn't even want to think about it anymore.

She bit her lip and clutched the worn paperback in her hands, even trying ease out the folded edges. And … whoops she kind of tore a small bit of page four hundred and thirty-five right there. Tsk. When will she ever be careful?

Sasuke eyed her very carefully. Bright hair, bright skirt and blindingly bright scarf… she was wearing those godawful boots that his best friend had given her last Christmas and a charm bracelet that he had given her on her birthday. It didn't match. He smirked. She was never the most fashionable girl. The It Girl.

She was a walking disaster.

But the girl needed warmth more than anything right now. She needed comfort, and security. A shoulder to lean on, a reassuring smile, a hand to hold, kind words to mend her heart… And lately, she wondered if she could ever find someone who was able to give her all that.

He was the only one that could.

He. _Him_. Sasuke. You know, the fucking bastard that got hit by a car last week? Same effing douche bag that had _her _iPod, buds lodged in his ears, listening to The Surprise Symphony on maximum volume? He could have avoided that shiny silver Volvo that was skidding wildly on the asphalt… he could have easily side-stepped and could have let that kid get run over… could have avoided getting a concussion, hemorrhage, and getting his ribs fractured so badly that it punctured one of his lungs.

11:32 pm, he remembered. It was the last time he had actually looked at a clock.

Oh.

Funny, that. He was dead.

They say that before you actually kick the bucket, your life kind of starts flashing right before your eyes. Death mocks you by showing all these happy and sad memories you've made while you were alive, highlighting specific events that held some sort of life-changing significance, and showing faces of people you loved the most up close as they give you those toothy grins before saying some quote that makes you feel guilty that you died on them.

It was never like that for Sasuke, though. He wondered why… but he figured that his unspoken question would never be answered anyway.

Huh. In retrospect, before he went on his panic attack and needed to listen to some classical to calm himself down, he had resolved to tell her the what he felt.

But he couldn't really do that now, right? No. He missed his chance. Just like that guy missed his in the book. Only difference was, he would never get a second try. He would never be the Prince Charming to whisk his Cinderella off to their happily-ever-after.

All Sasuke can really do now is stare at her back as she starts to leave, her neon brightness blinding everyone within a five meter radius, and her sobs scaring the kids off as she walked by them.

He chuckled humorlessly. She was STILL a walking disaster.

His beautiful disaster.

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**Author-person:** D'oh.

I don't really like this that much. I could have made it a little better, I think, if I didn't have this stupid writer's block.

Cookies for anyone who guessed the title of the book by Cecelia Ahern that was featured here.

Oh, and Whatshisname is based on what's-his-name (you'll get what I mean. Eventually.)

Errors? Please point them out. I will be glad to correct them. XD

Thanks for reading and please review.


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